Rogers’ six teammates will consist of Christopher Juul-Jensen, Manuele Boaro, Jesper Hansen, Michael Kolar, Pavel Brutt and Evgeny Petrov, who will support the three-time grand tour stage winner in his efforts to take a second victory Down Under, as he did in 2002.

“The entire team is very excited about kicking off the season in Australia,” said Lars Michaelsen, who will direct the team in Australia in January.

“We’re ready to take responsibility in the race, and I feel that we have a strong group of riders, who are very motivated to support Michael to the fullest. We come with ambitions aiming for a top-five with Michael but we also know that it’s very early in the season and there are a lot of unknown factors.”

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